


Soup and Sleep

by sophies_burntbacon



Series: Avengers Sick-fics [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Common Cold, F/M, Fever, Flu, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Healing, Other, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sickfic, Sleep, Soup, he wants to make up for civil war, she realises he isnt so bad, sick, steve knows more than he lets on, the avengers are away, tony takes care of reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:55:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26654776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophies_burntbacon/pseuds/sophies_burntbacon
Summary: Reader is sick and the Avengers are going on a mission. Only Tony's staying behind due to his own injury and Reader isn't happy, due to not trusting him after the Civil War. But maybe he isn't really so bad after all?
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Clint Barton & Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark & Thor, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Reader, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Reader
Series: Avengers Sick-fics [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823893
Kudos: 32





	Soup and Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> I updated again!! This one was written and edited in under 24 hours but it's my favourite fic that I've written. It's just Tony and you becoming friends.
> 
> As always, the rest of my fics are on Wattpad, but feel free to request one on here x

(Y/N) disliked Tony Stark. It was a well-known fact around the compound and Tony made no attempt to change it.

Well, he made some attempt. They both did. But between (Y/N)'s nervous, defensive and shy nature and Tony's outgoing, confident and joking manner, the two were always clashing.

It had begun as a simple matter of Tony making a joke, (Y/N) being new to the Avengers and reacting uncertainly, as though she were uncomfortable, and Tony failing to notice.

But it got worse as (Y/N)'s naturally defensive side began to go on the offensive as Tony made more jokes at her expense. Then, when (Y/N) clammed up and remained silent as she wasn't sure how to respond, Tony would make another joke and she would begin to feel attacked.

(Y/N) had grown up with little company, often on her own working in a small shop in a quiet alleyway in Vermont, or else playing alone in the forest near their house. As a result, she was never really sure how to respond to well-natured jokes and more often than not, came off as a cold person.

This, paired with the unsteady nature of the Avengers after the 'Civil War,' made everything uncomfortable in the compound when Tony welcomed all the Avengers - including (Y/N) whom he'd never met - back home.

The whole compound was tense though, so (Y/N) and Tony's relationship was nothing special, just something to consider when sorting out teams for missions and training. The issue became when Tony was injured and unable to go on a mission and (Y/N) was to stay back at the compound.

——

"Steve, please, I'm fine!" You begged, jogging alongside the elder Avenger. You'd been showing signs of a developing cold all week and by the time Thursday rolled around, Steve knew you couldn't come on the mission, but it wasn't going to stop you from trying.

"(Y/N), we all know you're not. Friday says you have a temperature of 39°, and I can't afford to have someone watching out for you, especially seeing as Tony's out too," Steve said, slowing down so you could keep up. "If you're worried about spending the weekend with him, don't worry. Just stay in your room and be polite to him. He doesn't mean to offend you, it's just in his nature."

You sniffled slightly, attempting to unblock your sinuses despite knowing it'd be useless. "I know... I just don't know what to say when he makes fun of me and he takes it the wrong way. And anyway, I was never friends with him before your whole... thing... so we can't fall back on old bonds."

Steve gave you a smile, shrugged and continued walking through the halls. "You don't have to come see us off, you know. I've had more than my share of illness, I just know you're dying to get back in bed."

The youngest Avenger merely shrugged. Yes, you desperately wanted to get back into bed and under your covers where you could actually be warm again but you also knew you had to see the Avengers off. After all, you wouldn't be leaving your room until they got back in an attempt to avoid Tony for the entire weekend (or longer).

Unfortunately, luck was not on your side and Tony was also there to see the Avengers off, his left arm still wrapped in its red cast and sling around his neck. He was pleading with Natasha to just let him come, even if he only did tech, but she wouldn't have it, claiming that he'd be a liability as the jet could easily be blown up.

——

Finally, the Quinjet was safely in the air and you were looking forward to getting back to your room and pulling the doona back over your head to keep warm. Trackies and a hoodie could only do so much and you could feel herself shivering in the enclosed landing area.

"(Y/N). Tell Friday to call me if you need anything. I'll be in my lab," Tony said and sauntered off.

That was new. No nickname, no snarky comment on your snot smeared appearance, nothing. Just an offer to help. Ordinarily, you might have commented but instead, you made your way back to your room, leaning slightly against the wall for balance and shivering.

Back in bed, you forced Friday to turn up the heating and lay staring at the wall, slowly fading out of consciousness.

"Friday! Dim lights, turn the heating down. I want soup on the stove and fever reducers next to it," someone snapped, too close for comfort.

A voice replied, calm and quiet and suddenly you were being pulled up.

"Come on (Y/N); work with me here." This close to the person, the smell of coffee and metal and oil penetrated even your blocked nose and you slowly pulled your legs underneath you, leaning on this person for balance. Their arm was around your waist and you leaned your head on their shoulder. Honestly, it had been a while since you'd had any human contact so this was nice.

"What's goin' on?" You asked, slurring your words with your eyes only half-open. Your throat is sore and the words unwieldy.

"Your fever's risen. I'm going to keep you in the living room for a bit so I can keep an eye on you, alright (Y/N/N)?"

You make a sound in response that the person takes to be agreement. As you walk down the halls, it comes to you that the only person who uses that nickname is...

"Tony?" Your voice is quiet and your throat is filled with phlegm so you clear it as the person rumbles in response to what you assume is his name.

"Where's Clint? Or 'Tasha? Or Steve?" Your voice is louder this time, not nearly as quiet or congested as before. Despite the confirmation that it's Tony, you still don't move away, still leaning into his body which is so much cooler than yours and yet still helps force your shivering to abide, if only slightly.

"They're off on a mission. We had to stay behind," Tony replies carefully, as though talking to a child. You nod slowly, taking in the information. Things are going slower than normal and the world feels a little off balance. It's a lot to juggle at once.

"Oh."

Tony's panting slightly as you finally reach the living room. Almost your entire weight is on him and he's only got one arm to steady you so you don't blame him. Ordinarily, you'd be embarrassed that you're so reliant on him, but you're so tired and your legs wouldn't support you if you wanted them to so you're forced to just accept your dependence on the man. The discomfort and anger you normally feel towards him are too tiring to maintain right now, so you don't and simply appreciate the effort he's gone to look after you.

"I should've left you in your room and brought the soup to you. That'd be much easier," Tony says as he finally deposits you on the couch.

You smile blearily up at him, "thanks." There's suddenly a blanket over you and a pillow behind your head and Tony's tucking you in.

"Don't fall asleep just yet, (Y/N/N). You've gotta eat something and take some medicine. Your bloody room was too hot. Friday shouldn't make it that warm for someone running a fever. I had to get you out of there. Probably could have just gotten her to turn on some air con but I didn't think you'd appreciate a blast of cold air in your face."

"Mmm, thanks," you mumble again.

He gives you a cautious smile and disappears out of your vision, presumably to collect that soup you heard him talking about to that woman... maybe it was Friday? You didn't really care and oh would you look at that? You were falling asleep again.

"(Y/N)!" Tony snaps.

"What?" You reply slowly, waking from a useless nap. Your headache is still throbbing and your nose is still blocked and runny and your body still aches. Wasn't rest supposed to cure a cold?

"Oh. Nothing, you just wouldn't wake up. Here's some soup. It's (favourite soup) cause Steve said you like that. Also, some water if you're thirsty," Tony says, nudging his head vaguely in the direction of the coffee table. His hand is holding a very full looking bowl of some sort of steaming liquid. You can only imagine that it smells just as good as you remember it to.

You reach behind him and grab the glass, wrapping both hands around it before bringing it to your lips and downing the entire thing in seconds. The water's icy cool and surprisingly refreshing, waking you up in mere seconds.

"Thanks," you say, feeling somewhat like a parrot in the way you keep repeating the one word.

"That's no problem. You eat some of this and I'll go get you some more water," Tony replies, taking the glass from your hands, placing it on the table and giving you the bowl and then the spoon.

"I'm not hungry."

"I don't care."

"Fair enough," you say, feeling somewhat guilty that Tony's gone to all the effort of asking Steve your favourite soup and actually making it. Well, adding hot water to the soup packet at any rate. He disappears off to get you some water without waiting to see what you do. You take a small mouthful and promptly burn your tongue.

Tony appears again just as you muffle a curse and grins at you. You stick up your finger in response, pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth to try and ease the pain.

"Sorry. The instructions just said to add boiling water to the powder," the elder man says, sounding not the least bit sorry at all.

"You could've told me! I assumed you'd add cold water to it afterwards, specifically so I wouldn't burn my tongue," you reply, angry and tired and unreasonably pinning it all on him.

"Sorry," Tony repeats, placing the water in your spare hand. The spoon had long since fallen to the bottom of the bowl and while you no longer needed to hold it up, you also knew you'd have to stick your hand in there at some point to retrieve it. Tony pretended not to notice.

"Natasha said you like movies from som Japanese brand... Kibbly or something," he says instead, settling into the couch at your feet.

"That's Ghibli. Those two names aren't even remotely similar," you say and the TV flicks on, courtesy of Friday, with a selection of all your favourite childhood movies. One catches you eye and you demand, "put on Spirited Away."

There's a headache gnawing at you now and right on cue, Tony sticks out his hand and offers you two white tablets. You take them without a second thought and grab the glass of water. By this point, you're full and warm (mostly) and you're not too stressed out despite Tony's presence so your eyes begin to drift, even as the movie starts.

——

The girl next to him looked pretty bad. She was significantly more pale than usual and there were ridiculously dark bags under her eyes. It spoke volumes, Tony thought, that she'd made no comment about him helping her and had been incredibly placid despite her usual rebellious attitude when he asked her to do something.

And anyway, you had to be pretty beaten up or sick for Steve to take you out of a mission. Privately, he'd asked Tony to keep an eye on her because he knew the younger girl had been hit pretty badly by whatever she had.

Her breathing sounded a little difficult but it was regular so Tony wasn't too worried. He'd noticed her sniffling a lot so he figured (Y/N)'s nose had to be quite blocked up. He focused on the movie, tablet in hand as he simultaneously played around with new designs for Wanda's suit.

And thus the days continued, with Tony attending to whatever he wished, whether it was new designs for someone's weapons or upgrades for his own suit, and (Y/N) nearby. She spent her time quietly watching movies or sleeping or reading and within two days was almost back to normal. By Sunday, she was feeling good enough to be following after Tony and helping him with the tasks in his experiments that required more than one arm. When she wasn't doing that, she was reading a new book Tony had ordered for her which he happened to know she'd been dying to get her hands on for months.

——

"Do you think he killed her or she killed him?"

"I reckon she just spent the entire weekend hiding."

"Nah, he definitely dragged her out and I'll bet they're both sick now."

"Ugh, that means we'll have to look after them!"

Needless to say, the Avengers did not predict the outcome of your and Tony's weekend together. A quiet friendship was the last of anyone's expectations, except maybe Steve, but he kept to himself so who could tell. The wagers Clint had collected on the outcome of the weekend were all returned as no one had bet on the pair of you becoming such fast friends.

There was some discussion, mostly led by Natasha, that the two of you were only pretending to be friends so that she couldn't win her bet that you had killed Tony, but the man in question shut that down before you could even process that you were being made fun of.

All in all, while the Avengers didn't achieve their mission (whatever that was. It couldn't have been too important because Steve didn't pursue it), Tony and your newfound friendship made the weekend an overall success as your powers complemented each other and it meant you could work together in the future, rather than maintain the exhausting frosty silence. Overall, it was obvious the fractures brought about by Steve and Tony's fight were finally healing.


End file.
